Costs at a rent tribunal: when you can claim, when you might pay (Rule 13) — tenant walkthrough 2026

For a lot of tenants, the single biggest thing stopping them challenging a rent increase is a quiet, nagging worry: what if I lose and end up with a bill for the landlord's costs? It is a reasonable fear, because that is exactly how the County Court usually works. The good news is that the rent tribunal is built on the opposite principle. As a general rule, each side pays its own costs, whatever the outcome.

This walkthrough explains how costs actually work at the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber), the one narrow exception you need to know about, and what to do if you want to claim your costs or have to answer a costs application from the landlord. It covers England only and assumes the case is a Section 13 rent challenge.

The default rule: no costs

The starting point is simple. The property tribunal does not normally make one party pay the other's costs. You can challenge a Section 13 notice, lose, and walk away owing the landlord nothing beyond your own expenses. The same is true the other way round: if you win, the landlord does not automatically have to pay your costs either.

This no costs rule is deliberate. The tribunal was designed to be used by ordinary people without lawyers, so the rules avoid the costs risk that puts so many people off going to court. It means the worst realistic financial outcome of a genuine, sensible challenge is that the tribunal confirms or adjusts the rent, not that you face a costs bill on top.

There is one important caution that is separate from costs: the tribunal decides the market rent, and before the Renters' Rights Act changes it could in principle set a rent higher than the landlord proposed. Make sure you understand which rules apply to your case before you refer it. But that is about the rent figure, not about costs.

The exception: Rule 13

The one route to a costs order is Rule 13 of the tribunal's procedure rules. It is narrow, and it cuts both ways. The two limbs that matter for a rent case are:

• Wasted costs caused by the improper, unreasonable or negligent conduct of a representative.
• Costs caused by unreasonable behaviour by a party, or their representative, in bringing, defending or conducting the proceedings.

The second limb is the one most relevant to tenants and landlords acting for themselves. The key word is unreasonable, and it is a high bar.

What counts as unreasonable behaviour

Unreasonable behaviour is conduct that no reasonable person in the same position would have pursued. It is judged on what the party did, not on who won. Things the tribunal has been willing to treat as unreasonable include:

• Ignoring the tribunal's directions, for example failing to file evidence by the deadline.
• Failing to attend a hearing without a good reason or any explanation.
• Pursuing or defending a case that is plainly hopeless, with no real prospect of success.
• Making false or misleading statements to the tribunal.
• Deliberately causing delay, or running up the other side's costs needlessly.

What is not unreasonable:

• Losing a genuine argument.
• Making honest mistakes as a litigant in person.
• Simply disagreeing strongly with the other side.

The threshold is set high on purpose, so that ordinary people are not frightened away from the tribunal by the risk of costs. If you think the landlord has crossed the line, the way to make that stick is concrete examples with dates, not a general complaint that they were difficult.

When a landlord might try a costs application against you

It is worth knowing that Rule 13 can be aimed at you too. A landlord who is annoyed at being challenged might threaten a costs application to pressure you into dropping the case. In almost all genuine challenges this is an empty threat, because bringing a reasonable challenge that fails is not unreasonable behaviour.

You only put yourself at risk if you do something like ignore directions, fail to show up, or pursue a case you have been clearly told is hopeless and then carry on regardless. So the practical protection is simple: engage properly, meet the deadlines, turn up, and keep your case grounded in real grounds to challenge. Do that and a Rule 13 application against you has nothing to bite on.

When you can claim your costs from the landlord

If the landlord has behaved unreasonably, you can apply under Rule 13 for an order that they pay the costs their conduct caused you. As a tenant representing yourself, your recoverable costs are usually modest, but they can still include genuine out-of-pocket expenses such as:

• The cost of obtaining evidence (for example paying for comparable rent data or a report).
• Postage, printing and copying directly caused by the landlord's conduct.
• Reasonable time off work, if the tribunal accepts the landlord's unreasonable behaviour caused it.

You will not recover costs just because you won. You have to point to the specific unreasonable conduct and show what it cost you. That is why a dated record matters so much.

How to apply (and the deadline)

You apply in writing to the tribunal, on the existing case reference, and there is a time limit: a costs application must normally be made within 28 days of the date the tribunal sends out its final decision. Do not leave it.

Your application should:

1. Identify the limb of Rule 13 you rely on (almost always unreasonable behaviour).
2. Set out exactly what the other side did, with dates, that was unreasonable.
3. Attach a short schedule of the costs you are claiming, with receipts or a simple breakdown.

The tribunal will give the other side a chance to respond before deciding, and may deal with it on the papers or at a short hearing. Keep it factual and proportionate, and resist the urge to re-argue the rent.

The 47 pound fee is a separate point

The application fee for a rent case (currently 47 pounds) is not part of the no costs rule about each side's legal costs. It is a fee you pay to bring the case. If you are on a low income or certain benefits, check whether you qualify for help with fees before you apply, because a remission removes the cost entirely. If the landlord's unreasonable conduct is what forced you to apply, you can also ask the tribunal to order them to reimburse the fee as part of a Rule 13 application.

Template: Rule 13 costs application (adapt to your case)

To: First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) Case reference: [number] From: [your name], tenant, [property address]

Application for costs under Rule 13

I apply for an order that the landlord pay the costs set out below. I rely on Rule 13 on the basis that the landlord acted unreasonably in [bringing / defending / conducting] these proceedings.

The unreasonable conduct:

1. On [date], the landlord [describe what they did, e.g. failed to comply with the directions order requiring evidence by [date]].
2. On [date], [next example with date].
3. [Continue as needed, dated and specific.]

Costs caused by that conduct: I attach a schedule of the costs I have incurred as a direct result, totalling [amount], with supporting evidence.

I make this application within 28 days of the tribunal's final decision dated [date]. I am content for the application to be decided on the papers, but I am willing to attend a hearing if the tribunal directs one.

[Signature, date]

Template: responding to a landlord's costs application

To: First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) Case reference: [number] From: [your name], tenant

Response to the landlord's application for costs under Rule 13

I oppose the application. The tribunal operates on a no costs basis and Rule 13 applies only to wasted costs or unreasonable behaviour, neither of which arises here.

1. I brought a genuine challenge on reasonable grounds, namely [briefly state your grounds]. Bringing a reasonable challenge that does not succeed is not unreasonable behaviour.
2. I complied with the tribunal's directions [or explain any difficulty and what you did about it].
3. [Answer each specific allegation the landlord makes, factually.]

I ask the tribunal to dismiss the application.

[Signature, date]

The bottom line

The fear of a costs bill is the single most common reason tenants talk themselves out of challenging a rent increase, and in almost every genuine case that fear is misplaced. The tribunal is a no costs forum. As long as you engage properly, meet the deadlines and keep your case grounded in real grounds to challenge, Rule 13 has nothing to bite on. And if the landlord is the one behaving unreasonably, Rule 13 gives you a way to make them pay for it.

If you are not sure whether your notice gives you grounds to challenge in the first place, a free check is the place to start before you ever get near costs.

This guide is general information about how costs work at the First-tier Tribunal in England, not legal advice. For advice on your own case, contact Citizens Advice, Shelter, or a housing solicitor.